The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce announced today that it will be creating a new innovation hub inside of the MaRS Discovery District.
Slated to open later this year, the bank joins MaRS’ recently launched FinTech cluster, and will send multiple teams to work out of the space.
In joining the initiative, CIBC’s goal is to help foster innovation within the banking space.
“Partnerships and innovation are the key to building the bank of the future, which is why we are excited about the opportunity to further our commitment to innovation with MaRS,” said Aayaz Pira, vice president of Digital Channels at CIBC, in a prepared statement. “The opportunity to have our team work alongside top design talent and entrepreneurs in a collaborative environment will further our leadership in developing the innovations that will change the way Canadians bank.”
Salim Teja, EVP for Venture Services at MaRS, added that “MaRS is committed to building bridges between corporations and best-in-class entrepreneurs. Having just launched our new FinTech cluster, we are thrilled to have CIBC as founding partner of MaRS’ corporate innovation hub. This space will help industry leaders leverage startup talent to boost creativity and innovation in Canada’s financial services sector.”
The two organizations say their new partnership has already borne fruit. CIBC’s upcoming Apple Watch app was developed by a CIBC team based at MaRS. The fact that the development team worked out of MaRS helped accelerate the app’s development, says the bank.